I began writing for Forbes in 2010. It was just as the economy was starting to perk up and a fascinating time to cover the stock market, which I did for three months until I switched beats in September 2010. Now I contribute to the Leadership channel, with a focus on jobs and careers–-another hot topic in a time when people are vigorously hunting for jobs or desperately trying to hold on to the ones they have. I have a BA from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in journalism from Hofstra University. Follow me on Twitter @JacquelynVSmith, subscribe to me on Google+, or email me at jsmith [at] forbes [dot] com.

How To Be Part Of The Team When You Work From Home

Working from home has its perks. You spend very little time commuting and less money on work clothes; you have greater flexibility, more family time, and fewer co-worker interruptions; and you don’t have anyone constantly looking over your shoulder and watching your every move–just to name a few.

It might seem like the ideal situation for self-disciplined, self-motivated employees—but full-time telecommuting also has its pitfalls. For instance, you may become isolated, with fewer opportunities to socialize; you could be distracted by your family or household chores; you might end up working too much, since you’re always at “the office”; and, worst of all, you’ll likely lack face time with co-workers and miss out on workplace camaraderie. In other words, you may feel left out from “the team.”

“There are undoubtedly many benefits one enjoys working from home,” says Mark Strong, a life, career and executive coach based in New York. “However, one major drawback is the feeling of disconnection one is almost certain to feel. No matter how often a telecommuter is in touch with those in the office or how much technology we use to communicate, the absence of ‘live’ connectivity affects the strength of the relationships between the telecommuter and their co-workers.”

Krista Carothers, a telecommuter and senior research editor of Working Mother Media, agrees. She says there’s definitely potential for full-time telecommuters to feel left out. “You take hallway chitchat for granted when you’re in the office, but lots of problems get solved during quick drive-by conversations in the coffee room. It doesn’t have to be this way, but staying in the loop requires proactive communication from the telecommuter and from the team members in the office.” Everyone needs to make an effort to keep their work-from-home colleague in mind, even if he or she is out of sight, Carothers says.

“For many employees, telecommuting seems like the ultimate luxury because you have control over when and how you work. But telecommuters often feel alone, as so much of a person’s job involves being part of a social fabric,” adds Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant; How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job. “The strong dependence on technology and lack of face-to-face team building can seem highly impersonal. But if you’re savvy in compensating for that dynamic, you can reap significant rewards from this highly coveted work practice.”

Carothers says if your work is tied in to the work of a team on an ongoing, day-to-day basis, then you definitely need to forge close ties with your team members and stay in touch with them. “It’s easy to lose sight of what’s urgent and what’s not if you’re not communicating with everyone on a regular basis–and you don’t want to be the team member who doesn’t execute on your part of a project just because it hadn’t been mentioned to you for a while, even though everyone back at the office has been talking about it nonstop.”

She says being part of a team–whether you’re working at home or in the office–isalso important to your morale and engagement “in just the way that having a strong social network in your personal life is important to your happiness there.” Seeing the results of the work you do makes it more satisfying, “and getting and giving support to others working toward the same goals makes work more meaningful,” she says.

Taylor concurs. She explains that a big part of job satisfaction is about building something with others. “The ‘no man is an island’ concept applies here,” she says. “Every job requires some level of connection with your team or boss for ultimate success. It’s not unlike sports: your ability to achieve is inextricably tied to your team interface.”

If you don’t incorporate team input and support as you conduct your telecommuting activities, your work could “go into the wrong tangents, creating many false starts,” for example. “You can’t fly solo without these associates because without their input and updates on projects, your work can become less useful.”

Strong says his most successful clients who telecommute usually spend a small portion of their time in the office. “Even one day in the office every couple of weeks allows all team members to deepen rapport and camaraderie.”

He reminds us that while not all telecommuters work in teams (some very successful telecommuters are solo contributors who report into one boss), others work on a team with multiple telecommuters. “In these cases, it’s critical that the entire team come together regularly to check in and connect. A leader of these teams must focus on helping everyone understand their individual and collective vision, mission, roles and contributions. And of course, anything that can be done to incorporate some sort of social or personal interactions – albeit virtually – can greatly increase the team’s effectiveness.”

Anyone who feels left out from a team is likely to suffer, he adds. “Truly, any team is only as good as its most productive member. When we don’t feel connected and aligned to our team members, we often lose clarity around what our role or impact is. This often leads to misunderstanding and lower productivity and morale.”

Here are 11 tips for being a bigger part of the team as a telecommuter:

Communicate constantly. Make sure you have regular check-in meetings (preferably over video if more than one person is involved) so that you always know what’s happening at work, Carothers says.

Taylor suggests you establish a routine of a weekly or monthly meeting. “Your boss and/or team will become accustomed to a regular meeting that’s mutually convenient–and it will be the perfect venue to tie up any loose ends and allow you to feel part of the team.”

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Since I started freelancing over this site, with a little effort I easily bring in around $45 to $85 per/h! This is the easiest and most financially rewarding job I’ve ever had. I started 7 months ago, and now my monthly income is around $8k. Here’s the source>>>>Jobs95.(com)

All good points . . . except the alone bit. I’ve felt more lonely in a room full of people than I ever have working at home. It’s easy these days to network when I have or want to or just be alone to think. I don’t have to put out a bunch of fires created by non focused office workers. My friends are still my friends and, since I’ve made my schedule flexible, we get together more often. If any complaining starts it’s always about co-workers — I have some, even though I’ve never met them. They have a tendency to get bored or frustrated and send me e-mails about the crazy office staff. What a team!

I’m new to the “at home” working environment. It seems strange not to have people dropping by my cube to exchange work ideas or for a friendly chat. I do think isolation can be an issue and I am going to check in as often as possible to stay visible and viable. Thanks for this timely article.

I telecommute about 50% of the time, the rest is in the office, so it balances out. Still, I find these recommendation very useful for someone who’s predominantly a telecommuter. Like a certain friend of mine who now only works from home and is turning into a sweatpants wearing slob. Not a career, just survival. Lynn Taylor has got it right – stay in touch, always be available, keep your finger on the pulse, so to say.

Great tips! As more people telecommute, or join the growing number of career freelancers, it’s helpful to be reminded why and how to remain in contact with employers and co-workers. There may come a time in the not-too-distant future when a distributed, telecommuting workforce becomes more the rule than the exception. Such a transition will be made all the easier if we think about and discuss potential pitfalls in advance, and begin to consider what a working life might look like without a daily dose of 9-to-5 face-time at the office. Thanks so much for your timely and thought-provoking article!

Nice article, I think if I went back to work the points discussed here would be outstanding for me to read again to remind me of how to deal with working again in the corporate world from home. As a new mother my husband and I decided I could just work from home online from time to time at www.workwithjasonandsvetlana.com and we work with visionaries and other stay at home mom’s etc. to create extraordinary income. We mostly enjoy helping others do the same!

Another great option for mixing up working at home and working around other people is a virtual office. This option provides some useful peer-to-peer networking as well as a professional mailing address so that clients aren’t mailing to your home address. There are quite a few virtual office options these days including CloudVO that has a cool option they call touchdown for those that travel a lot and need space wherever they happen to be that day. Great article – thanks.